Fourth Monkey's Young Actors Company

The Young Actors Company was born out of a desire to bring industry-focused acting training to young people, without sacrificing the sense of joy, enthusiasm and curiosity needed to make this provision accessible. The programme follows two pathways: the Young Actors Company and the Young Actors Mentorship. While both are founded on the ethos that is central to our higher education courses, the are delivered in slightly different ways.

The Young Actors Company

At the heart of Fourth Monkey's philosophy is the importance of ‘ensemble’ and how, much like team sport, collaborative mindset is necessary to find our greatest success. This is echoed across all our degree-level training courses, including our Young Actors Company. This training pathway allows young people to not only develop and nurture their love for acting, but also develop their understanding of being a team player and working towards a collective goal, rather than the often-assumed solo journey of the performer.

In the Young Actors Company, classes focus on developing skills in devising and performance, allowing space to practise audition technique essential for those looking to apply for drama school or go onto further training.

The Young Actors Mentorship

The Young Actors Mentorship is founded on the same ethos but allows for a more specific, tailored training journey, designed to grant the young person agency to set their own creative goals and work towards them under the guidance of an experienced and knowledgeable mentor.

This provides the young person with dedicated one-on-one support from a mentor, as well as individual control and autonomy over their training. The goals and focus points set by our young people can range from acting technique to researching agents or applying and auditioning for drama school. Our team of mentors are matched up with our Young Actors, with pairings based on their compatibility and ability to collaborate with the specific individual.

An industry focus

The desire to create a theatrical ensemble for young people came from the success of Fourth Monkey's higher education courses, coupled with my own experiences as a young person starting out in the industry.

I was lucky enough to find my first agent aged 15, when I began working with her in both a professional and a training-based capacity. Under her guidance, I worked on my acting technique week on week. This would include text work for stage and screen, audition preparation and devising, but, most importantly, we would always do a ‘check-in’ at the start of each class. This was not just an opportunity to share how we were on a personal level, it also focused on what we had recent seen on TV, at the theatre or cinema, or even heard on the radio. We were encouraged to critically discuss, review, and even question our opinions. This was an opportunity to actively engage with the industry in a way that was accessible and inclusive to young people. It helped made us conscious and aware of the world we were hoping to step into. The priority placed on engaging with the arts in this way meant that when I did step into the industry as a young person, I felt confident and competent and was seen as a professional. While this specific pathway might not be suited to everyone, the emphasis on industry awareness and engagement and the ability to critically examine creative work was extremely beneficial.

The art of making mistakes

Young or old, all of us are terrified of making mistakes. It is harder for some than others, but it is particularly prevalent to young people, where future journeys are often dictated by the marks they receive in exams. Making mistakes feels like the most important lesson when working with young actors, and the refinement of this skill is always a priority at Fourth Monkey. Young people have often spent their educational lives being told that there are only right and wrong answers. Stepping into the creative space, they should feel safe to try something in a thousand different ways before settling on an idea or choice. The only way to do this is trial and error and making this a central practice brings them much greater freedom and boldness in their performances, and, most importantly, allows them to truly be themselves.

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